Not Alone
by allthefeelsallofthem
Summary: After the LexCorp mission Jaime can't sleep, too distracted by what the Green Beetle said and everything else that has happened. Restless, he heads out of the Kent's barn to get some fresh air and is joined by Bart.


Author's note: Hey! So this is my first time writing something in a while, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I guess Bluepulse just inspires me :P

This takes place just after the end of True Colors. (In case it's not clear, I do not speak Spanish. Hope I didn't mangle the handful of words I used)

_Forgive this mental intrusion, Jaime Reyes, but your fear screams out to me. You fear losing yourself to your scarab, and so you wish it removed. But I am here to tell you: there is another way_

The Martian beetle's words kept playing in his head, over and over. What other way? Jaime rubbed his eyes with his palms, trying to get comfortable on the pile of hay he had claimed for the night in the Kent's barn. Conflicted emotions surged through his body –curiosity, of course, but also fear and confusion and hope and above all a desperate need for it to be true, to know that he wasn't destined to become a monster.

Unfortunately, before a further explanation could be given, Nightwing had called the other beetle over to discuss something, then had firmly suggested everyone try and get some rest. But rest was proving to be difficult.

He remembered what his scarab had said in response. _I detect no trace of falsehood. However I am not aware of the existence of "another way"._ He shuddered remembering the way they had already tried, and its results. How the Atom had said that he didn't believe the scarab was ever coming off. Or at least not while Jaime lived.

Now holding his head in his hands, Jaime gave up on trying to sleep. Moving carefully so as not to wake any of the others, he began to make his way out of the barn, hoping some fresh air would help clear his mind. As he passed Bart he paused for a second. The younger boy was curled up in a ball, frowning in his sleep. Jaime couldn't help but notice how vulnerable he looked, the mask he usually wore having faded away. The other members of the team didn't seem to realize that the bright, energetic boy they saw was only an act, that the real Bart had gone through terrible things and was on a desperate mission. Then again, most of them didn't know the truth about Bart's future, or about the Blue Beetle.

Steadily becoming more and more weighed down by his thoughts, Jaime sighed and turned to walk outside. However, he was so distracted that he didn't notice the step in front of the door and stubbed his toe.

"Mierda!" shot out from his lips before he could stop it, followed by a verging on snarky comment from the scarab.

_Is it your wish to wake the others? Because if it is, Jaime Reyes, you are certainly doing a good job of it_.

"Shut it," he muttered under his breath, quickly glancing around to see if anyone had noticed. No one seemed to have, which struck him as a bit odd, seeing as he would expect that a bunch of other superheroes still coming down of the high of a mission would be much more alert and jumpy than that.

Finally sneaking through the door, Jaime walked aimlessly for a few steps before spotting a large tree and collapsing beside it, once again rubbing his head with his hands. His thoughts quickly returned to where they had been, to the attempted surgery. He twitched, remembering the agony and the feeling of complete hopelessness that had followed. Bart had been there for him though, reassuring him and rubbing his back while he tried to recover. Bart, who had every reason to hate him…

"Hey, whatcha doing there? Pretty sure Nightwing called lights out" Jaime's head jerked up in surprise. Bart was crouching down in front of him, head tilted to the side in curiosity. Obviously he _had_woken someone.

"I, umm…I couldn't sleep"

Bart's eyes softened a bit. "You want to talk about it, hombre?" Jaime winced slightly at his terrible pronunciation, then sighed. "I just can't believe there's another beetle who isn't, well…"

"Evil?" Bart finished with a wide grin.

"Yeah" Jaime's lips twitched into an answering smile. "Escuchar, listen, the Green Beetle said that there was "another way" to deal with my scarab. One that would prevent me from going on mode"

The grin slid off Bart's face, replaced with shock. "Did he say what that other way was?"

Jaime shook his head. "No, we were interrupted before he explained."

Bart's smile began to return. "Still though, I see a lot of potential here. That guy obviously knows what he's doingImean didyouseehowhefoughtBlackBee tle andeventhoughhedidn'tdopermanantdamageitwasstill prettyimpressiveand-"

Quickly losing track of what the speedster was saying, Jaime placed a hand over his friend's mouth. "Hermano, slow down."

"Right, right, sorry about that. But still cool! Guess you won't be alone any more, now you can have a mentor too!"

Jaime blinked. The thought of the Green Beetle becoming his mentor hadn't really occurred to him, though now that Bart mentioned it it made sense. But…

"I'm not alone. I have you." The words were out of his mouth before he could properly process them. Already regretting it, he looked down, a blush spreading across his tan cheeks, and tried to do damage control.

"And the team and my family and friends and all of that and you're one of my friends so you're included in that." Panicking, he automatically switched to Spanish and kept talking. But now it was Bart's turn to stop his babbling.

"Hey, dude, calm down. It's okay." Jaime felt fingers under his chin pulling his face up, and met Bart's eyes. Despite the casual words they were completely serious. Not for the first time, Jaime noticed how beautiful the other boy's eyes were. He wasn't sure when he had first begun to be attracted to the speedster. At first he had denied it, after all, he'd never liked another guy before. But as time went on his feelings became stronger and stronger, and also harder and harder to hide –as proved by the slip he had just made.

"Why're you freaking out?"

"I…maldita sea. I didn't mean to say it that way."

"Why not? It's true. You do have me." Still looking into Bart's eyes, Jaime saw the sudden uncertainty in them, heard the shake in his voice. Hoping that he was correctly interpreting the emotion they belied, he slowly brought his hand up and caught Bart's hand, the one that was still holding up his chin. Bart's breathing hitched, but he didn't pull away. Fighting his nerves and the slight urge to run away (despite the fact that running away from an Allen was pretty much useless) he spoke.

"Actually, I did mean it that way. You…you're always there for me. When I was captured by the Reach, when I was in the operating room, whenever I needed you. Even though you should hate me for what future me did to you you still stick around, you still talk to me like I'm normal, like I won't become a monster."

Bart's breathing was certainly irregular now, the scarab "helpfully" pointed out. His eyes flicked back and forth between Jaime's face and their entwined hands, almost blurring for a second as he took it all in.

"You're not a monster. And you never will be. I _won't _let that happen." The resolution in Bart's voice, as well as the slight hint of desperation, had Jaime's full attention. "At first that was the plan because it would save the future, but now it's the plan because it will save _you_, and I don't want to lose you. Not now, not ever."

Jaime suddenly noticed how close his and Bart's faces had gotten. Both of them were now breathing heavily, their breath mingling in the cool Kansas air.

"I don't want to lose you either, cariño." His voice had dropped, the endearment at the end barely audible. Hesitantly, he used his free hand to gently cup Bart's face.

Slowly, so slowly that it must have been difficult for the speedster, Bart leaned forward, closing the gap between them, and pressed his lips to Jaime's. Jaime out a strangled moan and moved his hand into Bart's hair, cupping the back of his head and pulling him closer. Bart shifted from his crouch onto Jaime's lap and continued the kiss. Jaime's mind was reeling. The scarab had plenty to say, of course, but he tuned the scarab out, focusing on how amazing this was. Gently, he ran his tongue over Bart's lower lip and the other boy's mouth opened, granting him access. There was another moan of pleasure, though Jaime was no longer sure who it came from.

They continued to kiss becoming more and more passionate, until, out of breath, Jaime pulled back and rested his forehead against Bart's. Bart's hands, now on his chest, were shaking slightly and seemed to suddenly give out, letting him collapse against Jaime, who wrapped his arms around him.

Comfortable, the two of them stayed like that for a while, content to be together with their feelings out in the open at last. Eventually Bart stirred, lightly kissing Jaime's neck as he moved up to look him in the face. Seriousness gone, his face jumped back into its usual grin.

"Shame we didn't start this earlier –it would have made those hours stuck in the LexCorp washroom a lot more enjoyable"

Jaime lasted less than a second before bursting into laughter, Bart quickly joining in. His mind then began to run through all of the things they could have done, and could do, and he cut off Bart's laughter by kissing him again.

Even though he still didn't know what his future would hold, and whether or not he would be able to prevent his greatest fear, at least he knew he had someone to share it with.


End file.
